ELLKAY's flagship software, LKArchive is designed to intake and store medical records from legacy systems (or print), consolidate records for disparate sources, and make it easy to transfer between institutions and software platforms.
In 2021, ELLKAY began an overhaul of LKArchive's overall design and usability in an effort to make access to patient information more quick, clear, and intuitive.
Empower Clinicians
Inform Care Decisions
Improve Patient Experience
Support Reporting and Analytics
Fuel Clinical Workflows & Use Cases
More Responsive
iPad Friendly
Add Dashboard
1. Reduce clicks necessary to find patient information
2. Add graphs to track trends in medical data
3. Transition LKArchive from storage software to live software
4. Make software responsive and iPad compatible
1. Establish design patterns for future software redesigns
2. Greater focus on and improvement of UX in LKArchive and beyond
3. Make LKArchive into more useful and capable software, leading company transition to selling software suites instead of one-off solutions
Kickoff: June 2021 | Launch: March 2022
1. Director of Product Management
2. Lead Interface Designer - Product (Me)
3. UX Designer (my direct report)
4. Head of Engineering
1. Wireframes
2. High-fidelity Figma prototype
3. Design system to carry into other software products
4. Final dashboard implementation
How much information can we reasonably fit on the dashboard?
Which metrics do we include?
Create new use cases
Show trends without adding clutter
Avoid alienating existing users
What unique functionality can we invent as a value add?
How do we add functionality while improving simiplicity?
Will physicians adopt the new functionality?
1. Examine the current user flow in LKArchive. Interview and test users to see how people currently use the software, how they currently examine patient data and measure trends, and get feedback on our initial idea for a patient data dashboard.
2. Ask users to accomplish certain tasks using the current software to establish baselines to measure improvement in new software.
3. Determine priorities and hierarchies with card sorting exercises.
4. Competitive research to see how other companies - including some in healthcare software - organize complex data on a dashboard.
1. Card Sorting - Asked users to indicate their priorities for a) which common metrics to include on the dashboard, b) preferences for trend graph design, and c) preferences on information density
2. Wireframes & Low-Fidelity Prototypes - Shared with teammates and select users to determine preferences of layout for a) basic data tiles, b) trend graphs, c) date range selection methods, d) patient info location, e) new/no sidebars, and f) brand new features (including custom tabs).
3. Interviews and Surveys - To answer qualitative questions such as a) would this dashboard make LKArchive a more attractive and useful solution, b) Would it improve your process, c) do you have an interest in user-customizable dashboards or specialist-centered dashboards, and finally d) would you use this updated software on an iPad?
This was extremely valuable in the run up to designing wireframes for the dashboard. It helped me determine a) what metrics I MUST include, b) that people will give up some data for a cleaner interface, c) that people want graphs, and d) what style of graphs to use.
(See abbreviated card sorting results to the right)
While the information density and hierarchy of the dashboard was largely determined by the card sorting results, the wireframes I built as a result allowed me to determine the following:
1. Arrangement of data and charts to quickly guide the eye to what it's looking for - which didn't strictly align with card sorting results.
2. Preferences for date range selector design - a slider was largely preferred to a purely text-entry design.
3. Invention of Customizable Tabs - learned how to make them noticeable, intuitive, and useful.
My testing, interview, and survey pool included 12 physicians who were LKArchive customers, as well as five physicians who used other software and two who primarily relied on paper records. Testing and feedback was also completed by team members and other colleagues.
While less data-heavy than other research methods, this qualitative approach nevertheless confirmed that the dashboard was a sorely needed feature, would increase engagement with the software, reduce time spent analyzing metrics, might improve patient outcomes, and would help set us apart from our competitors.
I also got a great response to the idea of customizable dashboards for specific problem or illness tracking - especially as it would allow doctors to make more specific data accessible than was on the main dashboard.
1. Allergies
2. Medications
3. Blood Pressure
4. Immunizations
5. Weight
6. BMI
7. Triglycerides
8. Cholesterol
9. Temperature
10. HbA1c
11. Height
1. Area Chart
2. Line Graph
3. Bar Chart
4. Scatter Plot
5. No Graph (Values Only)
1. Ten Panels
2. Twelve Panels
3. Eight Panels
4. Fourteen Panels (Graphs in Modal Only)
Reorganize search fields and patient demographic data to improve page hierarchy
Date range slider automatically sets default endpoints based on patient data
Tables for static information and graphs for trending information, with graphs clickable for more depth.
Customizable dashboard tabs organized in an eye-catching and intuitive tab structure, similar to physical medical record tabs
Open/Close sidebar menu to improve visibility of dashboard data, especially on iPad
Preserve some colors, sidebar tabs, and advanced search fields from existing LKArchive to ease transition
After searching for a patient using the new advanced search, the user is now taken to an intuitive patient dashboard that surfaces relevant data and trends. Once there, the physician can dive deeper into the data, or create custom dashboards for any specific problems they're tracking.
At the same time as we were researching user flows and brainstorming features, I was building a design system for ELLKAY software for the first time, so we were designing elements for this tool at the same time we were formalizing and optimizing flows throughout the software.
Larger buttons and menu objects for mobile/iPad usability
Colorful, visual graphs to display trends at a glance
Robust, nested sidebar menu for quick access to important patient data
Advanced search fields along the top so physicians can find any patient in their system
Consistent, modernized color and iconography throughout the application
Custom tabs for tracking specific problems that physicians can modify on their own
1. Developer Notes in Figma
2. Meetings to demonstrate behaviors and interactions
3. Check staging daily to confirm progress and make notes
4. QA process with internal team members and select physicians using dummy data
5. Technical issues would be prioritized prior to launch, whereas UX or UI improvements would be held for future updates
Step-by-step rollout to existing users, followed by marketing push and website update. The new look, dashboard, and functionality helped with sales and marketing efforts to bring on new clients.
Analytics and post-launch feedback indicated that we completed our project goals:
1. Reduce clicks necessary to find patient information
2. Add graphs to track trends in medical data
3. Transition LKArchive from storage software to live software
4. Make software responsive and iPad compatible
Following the success of the LKArchive visual refresh and new dashboard functionality, ELLKAY planned to expand the new look across their app ecosystem and position LKArchive as a more robust EMR/EHR software beyond storing legacy data.
I would leave the company before this came to pass, but LKArchive is now a major part of the "LKOasis" software suite, whose focus is as much on live data and analytics as information storage and transfer.
Over 320,000 sessions per week, up 330% from an average of only 95,000 sessions per week prior to launch.
Users now spend an average of 9 minutes per session, down 40% from ~15 minutes per session prior to launch.
Users spend 56% of that time in new dashboard
Added entire use case to flagship product, improving sales and usage rates
Led to creation of LKOasis and business model around modern, branded software suites
Much more intuitive
Enjoy using the software on iPad
Started adding notes directly in software